Flashing the High-Beams

Flashing the High-Beams

Here is an excellent ruling for those of us who know about flashing high-beams. Why do we do it? What's the reason behind it? Generally it's because the idiot coming from the opposite direction has their high-beams on and we are trying to remind them to turn them off.

In this case, a driver happened to flash his high-beams at the officer twice. So the officer pulled him over to "investigate." The officer subsequently arrested him for a DUI. The question is... can an officer stop you for flashing your high-beams? Answer: Only in certain circumstances, none of which applied to Mr. Sarber's case.

A driver's conduct in twice flashing the high-beam headlights of his vehicle at oncoming traffic is not an objective basis for an investigatory traffic stop when the record contains no evidence that the headlights projected "glaring rays . . . into the eyes of the oncoming driver" in a manner that blinded, impaired, or distracted another driver. Minn. Stat. § 169.61(b) (2010).